The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Woke Up in a Dreamlike Reality

The kind of life she led was devastating.

Can it even be called life?

When the world was torn apart inside out, and zombies ran rampant in every corner of the Earth, it would be a miracle for someone to even live this long.

***

Crunch

A woman trudged along the ground floor of an abandoned parking lot inside a building. Behind her back, a bag, carrying what was left of her supplies, slightly swayed as she moved. Her direction was the old truck that made a lot of noise—one she had been using since she got separated from her team.

It wasn’t the most ideal form of transportation since it attracted a lot of zombies. But she had no choice, since it was the only one working. Other cars had already been taken or torn apart for their batteries and gases.

She shoved the bag into the truck, got inside, inserted the car keys in one fluid motion, and quickly left the parking lot.

The outside was even worse to look at.

The touch of what could resemble life was stripped away. Bloodstains that had long turned into brown smudges, bodies that hadn’t mutated into zombies but rotted away, littered the road. Cars blown and abandoned were everywhere.

Of course, zombies, who are now the main citizens of this ruined world, were around as well. They aimlessly wandered, not knowing when a new foolish human prey would end in their midst.

As a human, she should’ve been afraid. Run and hide from them.

But...

She looked down at her bandaged arm. Blood was already seeping through. Wrapping a new one around the wound was impossible. Not with what was left of her supplies.

Besides, what was the point?

Outside the wrapped bandage, ghastly blue marks branched out across her arms, climbing to her shoulders, chest, and neck. She looked in the rearview mirror.

Her left eye had long lost its use. The eye no longer resembled a human’s eye, lacking a distinct sclera and filled with hollow darkness. The only feature left was her pupil, which had turned bright red. Marks resembling the ones on her arms have also started to show on half of her face.

She was mutating.

Ah, life was good.

At least, before she died and became a zombie, she could read the novel she had been dying to get her hands on. It was her only form of escape from the harsh reality of the apocalypse.

As she drove down the street, the sound of the car attracted several zombies. But she didn’t stop, accelerating her speed as if nothing else mattered.

"Grrr."

"GRRR!!!"

From inside the car, she could hear them growling. Prolonged hunger made them sensitive and violent.

"Come on, you motherfuckers."

She smiled as she sped up once more.

"Catch me if you can."

And then—

A small form stood in the middle of the road.

It was a zombie child.

It shouldn’t affect her seeing a zombie appear before her. Especially, a child wasn’t a rare sight either. It was the harsh reality of this world. No one was safe from total destruction when the apocalypse arrived.

But pain ripped through her the moment she caught sight of it. The child faced the truck with unfocused red eyes. Jaw dribbling in drool and snarling ahead. What was left of that face barely resembled what she could remember.

Startled by the sudden appearance of this zombie child, her foot involuntarily pressed hard on the brakes—and froze.

Her heart dropped.

Do it. Her mind screamed inside, telling her to ram the truck into that small form.

Even so, she couldn’t do it.

CRASH!

Is this my... end?

She tried to look out, just to get one last glimpse of that small form she saw just now. Once more. Let me see you one last time.

Is this a dream?

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